Between Sun and Moon
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: Cutie marks usually reflect a pony's role in life. But do names do the same, or are they irrelevant to such a role? It was a question that Twilight asked once. A question that Celestia had trouble answering.


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**Between Sun and Moon**

"Princess Celestia?"

"Hmm?"

"Um...I was wondering...do names actually...mean something?"

Celestia looked down at the filly below her, her head poking up from _A Beginner's Guide to Alchemy_. The question was unexpected, but not unwelcome. It was hard enough being the ruler of a continent-sized kingdom, let alone having to move the sun and moon every day, and any distraction from those tasks was welcome, provided it didn't last too long. And while Twilight was akin to most fillies her age in that she was always asking questions, she at least gave her the courtesy of listening to the answers.

"...in what way, Twilight?"

Answers that sometimes needed a question of her own.

The secrets of turning lead into rubies cast aside, Twilight sat up as best as a pony past her bedtime could. "I mean...there's cutie marks, right? As in, they represent something?"

"Of course." The princess gestured to her own-a blazing sun, as per her rule over the ball of fire's movements. "Surely you understand that yourself?"

"Yes, but..." Twilight gestured to her own, consisting of a six-pointed star with five smaller ones. "I mean, what does mine actually _mean_? Am I to look to the stars? Go to the stars? Become a star?"

"Twilight-..."

"Or, as in, one of those stars at Chestnutwood? Not that I'm that fond of acting, but-..."

"Twilight-..."

"And if it is to do with the stars, is it to do with astronomy? Astrology? Astrophysics and the application of m, as in magic theory, to m as in matrix theory, as in-..."

"Twilight, you're overanalysing."

The filly stared at her blankly, prompting Celestia to briefly wonder why she took on a student as her protégé. She knew the answers...all of them, even if she was only willing to share some of the most basic with Twilight and her parents. Yes, she was talented. Yes, she was powerful. Yes, she had an inquisitive mind that she saw was worthy of being nurtured, even if it did go into overdrive at times. But that wasn't the only reason. And considering that Celestia knew she'd failed as a sister, she sometimes wondered how capable she was as a surrogate parent.

"But...but...it's good to analyse stuff, right? Right? I mean, it's not wrong? Or left? Or right? Which side is which in politics again?"

"Um...Twilight...maybe we should get back to your original question," Celestia answered hastily. "What do names...and I suppose by extension, cutie marks, mean?"

It seemed to work, prompting the filly to go into deep thought. Saved her from the horror of the political spectrum on one hoof, and encouraged her to find her own answers on the other. And as for the other two hoofs...well, they were mainly telling Celestia to put Twilight to bed given the late hour and get on with her own duties as a ruler, but those hooves were on the rear end of her body, so she was able to ignore them.

"Well...people have been talking about this thing called _Twilight_..." the filly began. "You know, that book? The one where the earth pony that falls in love with the diamond dog?"

"...literary license, I assure you," the princess said awkwardly, wondering whether she'd have to put her hoof down in what books her student was exposed to. "Go for the simplest explanation Twilight, if there is one. Because it's usually correct."

The filly looked at her...then her cutie mark...back to Celestia...then even at a framed picture of Starswirl the Bearded, as if the old geezer held all the answers. Finally however, she seemed to come up with an answer herself.

"Well, twilight's part of day, isn't it?" the filly asked eventually. "The time between dawn and sunrise...and...the time between...sunset and dusk?"

"Correct," Celestia declared.

"So, what does that mean?"

The alicorn's gaze darkened, and not only because of the increasingly late hour and the fading candles. What indeed? Sunset and dusk...the period of transition. The point where the sun gave way to the moon. A bridge between the two, if one saw it that way.

"Teacher?"

"I think...that it means whatever you want it to mean," Celestia said. "Now trot along Twilight, it's past your bedtime."

"But...but..."

"_Now_."

With a snort worthy of a stubborn mule, Twilight cantered out...then returned for her book, then cantered out again. It wasn't until the door to her quarters was closed that Celestia returned to her work, silently cursing. She didn't regret her actions in themselves-it was always best to seek out the answer to a problem yourself rather than give it for you. And what of Twilght's name indeed? Coincidence or otherwise, it was academic in her choice to take her on as her protégé in the end. And cutie marks weren't always a clear-cut indication of what one was set to do with their lives anyway. True, her own sun one was quite indicative of her own purpose, but there were still plenty of exceptions.

Yet on the other hand, she'd lied to Twilight. Not an outright lie, but omission of the truth wasn't much better either. She knew more than she was letting on. And if there was one thing she'd learnt the value of over the centuries, it was that if one lost a pony's trust and respect, it could be damn near impossible to regain them.

But maybe "twilight" was symbolic. Celestia certainly hoped so...

...because what other bridge was there to reunite sun and moon?

Herself and Luna?

Glancing up at the moon in the night sky, surrounded by stars...Celestia looked for a five-pointed one.

* * *

_A/N_

_I forget where I read it exactly, but I came across an interesting idea somewhere on the Internet that "Twilight," in both name and character, is symbolic. Twilight is a time of day, a 'bridge' between day and night, and the one that ends up reuniting Celestia (day/sun) and Luna (night/moon). Probably overanalysis, but certainly there's a tendency in pony names to reflect their nature/role/purpose, even cutie marks notwithstanding. Anyway, came up with this as a result._


End file.
